"France is one of those countries that by printing money for 14 African stats prevents their economic development and contributes to the fact that refugees leave and die in the sea or arrive on our coasts."

The right side of Italy's new outsider government through Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini of the League has been outspoken about stopping migrants reaching Italian shores and France shirking its responsibility to take migrants but the "Left Hook" has been applied to the French government and its policies.

Luigi Di Maio, Deputy Prime Minister and Labor and Economy Minister, leads the more left-leaning outsider party in Italy, the Five Star Movement.

And over the weekend he hit hard at French policies in Africa that he says perpetuate colonialism and drive migrants into the ocean with many of them dying and or arriving in droves on Italian shores.

"The EU should sanction France and all countries like France that impoverish Africa and make these people leave, because Africans should be in Africa, not at the bottom of the Mediterranean"

The French government called the Italian ambassador to France to the foreign ministry on Monday.

A French diplomatic sources called the statement:

"hostile and without cause"

Mr. Di Maio has also been outspoken in his support of the Yellow Vests movement in France, even more than Mr. Salvini, who has given his nod of support.

Di Maio went so far as to invite Yellow Vests figure Eric Drouet to meet with him.

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